# Acrylic stems?



## Oudis (Oct 28, 2011)

Hey everybody,

A friend of mine is offering me a pipe -nothing special but nice and cheap- which has an acrylic stem/mouthpiece. It looks fine to me but I'd like to know more. I've heard of stems of vulcanite, lucite, bakelite, plastic, bamboo, copper, bronze, steel, wood, and amber, but never acrylic.

Any thoughts?

I'd appreciate any information or comment.

Oudis.


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## Commander Quan (May 6, 2003)

Stems- Vulcanite vs. Acrylic


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## Oudis (Oct 28, 2011)

Well, Commander Quan, a very succinct but perfect report –thanks. I’ll go for it.

Yours,

Oudis.


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## Cigar Man Andy (Aug 13, 2008)

I work for Savinelliand I prefer Lucite for looks and Vulcanite for smoking.


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

Cigar Man Andy said:


> I work for Savinelliand I prefer Lucite for looks and Vulcanite for smoking.


I definitely prefer vulcanite for clenching, but acrylic has the virtue of indestructibility as well as good looks.


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## Commander Quan (May 6, 2003)

I put a softy on everything so I'm pretty much neutral. However if I didn't use the softys I would have to go with the vulcanite. When I clench (which is all the time) I have a tendency to hold the pipe with my canine teeth. Doing this with a lucite stems makes the pipe slide around all over the place.


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## BrewShooter (Mar 17, 2011)

I also use a softy bit. So, as far as I'm concerned, they could all be made of lucite for durability, but I have no particular issue with vulcanite stemmed pipes.


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## Nick S. (Jul 10, 2011)

You already got the answer you were looking for, but if we are giving our preferences I would have to say I always try to go with vulcanite. I think I own 4 pipes that have lucite stems and about 20 that are vulcanite. As to softy bits, I have 2 pipes I use them on but avoid using them on all my other pipes... I realize it is a functional thing for a lot of you, but I think putting a softy bit on a pipe is akin to putting a bulky winter coat on a beautiful woman... it just ruins those lines...


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

I sometimes put heat shrink on the Forever stem, but it gets nasty in a week or tow, so I pull it off and am too lazy to replace it. What I'd like is to have a new one put on every few days -- by somebody else! I think I'm getting hardened to the hard Forever stem, since I smoke the cob in the car almost exclusively, which is pretty much an all-clench operation. I feel guilty clenching the old Sasienis, but apparently I'm pretty a light clencher. Even those have gradually lost the heat shrink, which I became a big fan of for a while last year. I really like the feel of the fresh heat shrink tubing, but it's a hassle to keep fresh ones on there. There also seems to be accelerated oxidizing (or whatever happens to turn vulcanite stems gross) of the the vulcanite stems underneath the tubing, so that was the final straw.


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## Nick S. (Jul 10, 2011)

freestoke said:


> I sometimes put heat shrink on the Forever stem, but it gets nasty in a week or tow, so I pull it off and am too lazy to replace it. What I'd like is to have a new one put on every few days -- by somebody else! I think I'm getting hardened to the hard Forever stem, since I smoke the cob in the car almost exclusively, which is pretty much an all-clench operation. I feel guilty clenching the old Sasienis, but apparently I'm pretty a light clencher. Even those have gradually lost the heat shrink, which I became a big fan of for a while last year. I really like the feel of the fresh heat shrink tubing, but it's a hassle to keep fresh ones on there. *There also seems to be accelerated oxidizing (or whatever happens to turn vulcanite stems gross) of the the vulcanite stems underneath the tubing, so that was the final straw.*


I would bet that is caused by saliva being trapped between the stem and heat shrink and never being able to dry.


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## BrewShooter (Mar 17, 2011)

It's definitely a good idea to rinse the softies as well and try to get some water underneath them. I do so after every smoke.


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## CaptainEnormous (Sep 30, 2010)

I've made many stems from both materials. 

A couple notes about the link to Russ' "Vulcanite vs. Acrylic" article: 

- >95% of pipe stems are made from blanks, so the stem comes pre-formed and is then fitted to the briar. Acrylic blanks are often thicker at the bit. And it's much harder to work because it's, well, a very hard material. So the end result is often a thicker bit.
- For those of us who turn their own stems from rod stock singularly for each pipe, the opposite is actually true: Because Acrylic is harder than Vulcanite, you can leave slightly less material around the draft hole without worry that it'll wear/break. We're talking 100ths of an inch here, so it's not a huge deal. 

You'll also see mention of "Ebonite" stems. This is essentially high-grade Vulcanite (which, according to what I've read, is a rubber and sulfur compound, heated just so. . .and is akin to the stuff car tires are made out of). Ebonite has less of a tendency to oxidize over time (turn yellow/green, as the sulfur leaks out).

My $.02 about Vulcanite/Ebonite vs. Lucite: Vulcanite will form to your bite pattern easier, but will oxidize over time and require routine maintenance. It's also more fragile. Acrylic doesn't oxidize, but it also feels hard to the bite. It's more durable and keeps a shine much longer.

For my pipes, I use Acrylic 90% of the time, turned from extruded 1.5" rods. It's more work than Vulcanite/Ebonite. But I like the final product better. 

Most high-grade makers seem to use Ebonite. Bought at great expense from Germany. 

A lot of mid-grade makers (Il Ceppo and Mastro de Paja come to mind) use Acrylic/Lucite.

Mass-produced pipes tend to use Vulcanite.


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

CaptainEnormous said:


> Most high-grade makers seem to use Ebonite. Bought at great expense from Germany.
> 
> A lot of mid-grade makers (Il Ceppo and Mastro de Paja come to mind) use Acrylic/Lucite.
> 
> Mass-produced pipes tend to use Vulcanite.


Ebonite! I'm betting these old Sasienis have ebonite stems, not vulcanite. And the Berkebile has a vulcanite stem! Wow. This is very cool. I thought they were synonymous, like acrylic/Lucite, but they aren't. Thanks Dave! :tu


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## Nick S. (Jul 10, 2011)

freestoke said:


> Ebonite! I'm betting these old Sasienis have ebonite stems, not vulcanite. And the Berkebile has a vulcanite stem! Wow. This is very cool. I thought they were synonymous, like acrylic/Lucite, but they aren't. Thanks Dave! :tu


The next question is how do you tell the difference between vulcanite and ebonite?


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## Damselnotindistress (Aug 7, 2011)

OOOHHH, thank you for this post!!! I've always wondered about those "stem" differences...and I don't even smoke a pipe! But my brother-in-law does and I always like to research what to get him. I'm finding myself fascinated by the bamboo type stems from China that are crafted by German pipe manufacturers. Also Vaun pipe specialties. But in the end I'm back at good old Kremer's Smokeshop, a Louisville, Kentucky historical fixture here where the proprietor gives me good deals.


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## CaptainEnormous (Sep 30, 2010)

Nick S. said:


> The next question is how do you tell the difference between vulcanite and ebonite?


Great question. I don't have a good answer for this one. 
I still make enough mistakes on my stems (which take as much time as shaping the briar. . .and are even easier to ruin in the final stages) that I can't afford Ebonite rod often. It costs 5 times what Acrylic does.

I'm sure the high-grade guys have their own sources, but I just checked my source for Ebonite rod stock and it's going for $65 + shipping per 20" rod. Factor in loss from cutting and an occasional mistake, and that's $20 per stem, just for the rubber dowel.
Good Acrylic rod goes for $40 per 48".
A pre-formed Vulcanite replacement stem costs a dollar or two (but it still needs to be shaped to fit, polished, and have it's tenon cut to exact specifications. . .so when a repair-person charges $25 to replace a Vulcanite stem, that's not at all unreasonable!).

So, I'd say assume every stem that isn't Acrylic was made using a Vulcanite blank. Unless it's original value was over $100 and the stem was hand-made.
Most people hand-turning stems will say so somewhere on their website/advertisements.

As for older pipes (like Jim's Sasieni), I really don't know. I've restored a bunch of Sasieni pipes with heavy oxidation. But they were all 20+ years old. 
Hopefully someone with more background than me can shed some light on what materials were available in the last 50 years?


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## Nick S. (Jul 10, 2011)

CaptainEnormous said:


> Great question. I don't have a good answer for this one.
> I still make enough mistakes on my stems (which take as much time as shaping the briar. . .and are even easier to ruin in the final stages) that I can't afford Ebonite rod often. It costs 5 times what Acrylic does.
> 
> I'm sure the high-grade guys have their own sources, but I just checked my source for Ebonite rod stock and it's going for $65 + shipping per 20" rod. Factor in loss from cutting and an occasional mistake, and that's $20 per stem, just for the rubber dowel.
> ...


hmm, interesting... I bet my Musico pipes have Ebonite stems.


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

CaptainEnormous said:


> As for older pipes (like Jim's Sasieni), I really don't know. I've restored a bunch of Sasieni pipes with heavy oxidation. But they were all 20+ years old.
> Hopefully someone with more background than me can shed some light on what materials were available in the last 50 years?


I was guessing for sure. Sasieni's were once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, all about top notch materials, so I'd imagine they'd go for the highest grade stems for the FourDots at least and maybe the whole line by default. Ebonite has been around for a long time, like over a hundred years I think.

There seems to be a hardness difference between the stem on the Berkebile and the FourDot, and a further difference between that and the acrylic 4Dot. I recall reading about some stink involving "vulcanite" stems and acrylic stems between the last of the Sasieni family and the new owners, circa 1979, that was the "last straw" in the original family's exit from the company, the new group wanting to go with acrylic. If profit was the basis of the decision, we almost have to suspect that they were using the "Ebonite" version of vulcanite, otherwise it wouldn't make much sense from a profit perspective.


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## mmiller (Nov 17, 2011)

My Mario Grandi has an acrylic stem and I love it, if you like the pipe there is no reason to avoid it due to the stem not being vulcanite :tu


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## Nick S. (Jul 10, 2011)

mmiller said:


> My Mario Grandi has an acrylic stem and I love it, if you like the pipe there is no reason to avoid it due to the stem not being vulcanite :tu


I wouldn't go quite that far, I greatly prefer vulcanite over acrylic, but beyond preference if a person is a clencher than vulcanite tends to be more comfortable. While not the ultimate deciding factor, it is still worth consideration when choosing a pipe. There is a lot of personal preference that goes into it as well...


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## Leucrocotta (Dec 11, 2011)

This has me thinking now. I'm almost certain my current pipe has a vulcanite stem, though I was looking at a couple that had acrylic stems. I'm not much a clencher at the moment, so perhaps I should think about getting an acrylic stem for me next pipe and see how I feel about it, or if makes a difference for me. Thank you for provoking a little debate in my head.


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## mmiller (Nov 17, 2011)

Nick S. said:


> I wouldn't go quite that far, I greatly prefer vulcanite over acrylic, but beyond preference if a person is a clencher than vulcanite tends to be more comfortable. While not the ultimate deciding factor, it is still worth consideration when choosing a pipe. There is a lot of personal preference that goes into it as well...


I suppose it doesn't really matter to me either way because I put a pipe bit on all my pipes, thanks for the input though, that didn't even cross my mind as a factor.


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## BrewShooter (Mar 17, 2011)

Nick S. said:


> There is a lot of personal preference that goes into it as well...


True, but, if everything about the pipe was otherwise what you wanted, is the stem material enough to break the deal?


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## Nick S. (Jul 10, 2011)

BrewShooter said:


> True, but, if everything about the pipe was otherwise what you wanted, is the stem material enough to break the deal?


I don't know if it is enough to break the deal, but it is enough for me to stop and think about it longer... Now I am about a 50% clencher, so vulcanite is not a mandatory thing for me and honestly one of my favorite/best smoking pipes does have a acrylic stem. I think I could overlook an acrylic stem easier if it was black, I really dislike all the gaudy colors that they are making stems out of these days, they just aren't my cup of tea. I prefer the traditional black more than anything else...


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